Electrical distribution by alternating currents.



P. G. HEWITT.

ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION BY ALTERNATING GUHRENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1903;

1,1 10 68.7 1 Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

,ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rETEE coorEE HEWITT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY. mEsNEAssmEMENTs, .To COOPER HEWITT ELEGIRIC GOM-PANYVOF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION BY ALTERNATING CURRENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

Griginal application filed April 25, 1903, Serial No. 15;,304. Divided and this application filed June 4,

1903. Serial No. 160,034.

To-all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, PETER COOPER 'Hnwrrr, a citizen of the United States, and

resident of New York, county of New York, State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Distribution by Alternating Currents, of which the following is a specification.

It has been proposed to operate a direct current work circuit from a supply circuit fed by a source of alternating currents by interposing at a suitable point or points in the system one or more devices permitting the passage ofcurrent in one direction only. Under some conditions, the current thus delivered, though direct, t. ads to be intermittent to such a' degree. as to be in some cases objectionable. Such objectionable characteristics are noticeable, for'example, when only like phases of a current derived from a single phase alternating current source are delivered directly to the work circuit through devices of the character mentioned above. directly supplied from. the supply circuit to the work circu t,- the latter could be impressed with supplemental impulsesat times intermediate between the direct impulses, the flow of current would be much. steadier.

In other words,'if currents of different phasev from-that of the supply circuit could beds. li'vered to the work circuit, the desired cleee of steadiness would be more nearly atalso from the secondary of a' transformer.

fed by: the supplycircuit, the secondary current,; like the primary, passing through a devic-whch permits current flow in only one direction, a much more nearly-uniform supply of direct "current will be obtained than-without the use of the secondary current] :In'i practice the current from: the's econdary may pass through the same device as that from the primary, in some instances, or it may pass through a separate device.

I have illustrated my invention in con- If, in addition to I the impulses thus uection with a single phase alternating cur rent supply circuit, although it is applicable to polyphase circuits as well. In either case, the primary and secondary impulses delivered to the work circuit will be approximately symmetrical. in the sense that the phase distance between successive phases delivered to the work circuit will be approximately the same.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagram of circuits embodying my invention and applied to the operation of a Cooper vHewitt lamp: and Fig. 2 illustrates diagrammatically another system of circuits constituting a modification.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1' 'and 2 are main conductors leading from any suitable source of single phase alternating currents, and 5 indicates in this instance 21 Cooper Hewitt lamp. This comprises, a suitable container, two positive electrodes, 8 and 9, and a' negative electrode, 7. A co'nductor, '3, leads from the main 1, to the positive" electrode 8, and a conductor 4 leads from the conductor 2-to the negative electrode7. L The primary coil 10 of a suitable transformer is connected between the mains 1 and 2. The secondary coil, 11, of this transformer has one terminal connected by a conductor, 2Q, with the electrode 9, while its other. terminalis connected with the main conductor 2. A suitable inductive device, 6, may be connected in th'e'conductor 4. P'ositive electric impulses upon the line l-, will traverse the lam or translating device 5 by way of the con uctor 3'ancl elect'rodeS, re-

turningto the conductor 9 by way of the conductor4.' At the same time a positive impulse is impressed on electrode 8 there will be a negative impulse-impressed on electrode 9, which will be held back by the device 5, but at the succeeding period,- when a negative impulse is presentat 8, and being held back, the positive impulse will be impressed on 9 and will be allowed to pass through the device so that there will be passing through the device in a positive direction currents from both the positive wave and the negative wave. The current from the coil 11, will'be approximately 180 behind the current traversing the coil 10, and it will flow from one terminal through the conductor 20,"electroqle 9, translating device 5-, electrode 7, and by way of conductor 4 to the other terminal of the coil 11.

The direction of windings of the coils 1O and 11, should be such that positive currents from the coil 11 will be delivered to the electrode 9 alternately with the positive impulses delivered to the electrode-8. It, will thus be seen that the lamp 5, which in itself has the characteristic of permitting a flow of current in one direction only, is affected by two sets of impulses, one derived directly from the supply mains 1 and 2, and the other derived indirectly through the transformer 10-11. As these impulses representphases which are practically opposite eachother, the time at which impulses of one phase are impressed upon the lamp will be substantially intermediate between the times at which the other impulses are impressed upon it. This will tend to a comparative uniformity in the effects produced in the lamp itself.

For the purpose of so modifying the phases of the two sets of impulses as to provide a more or less continuous" flow of current, one or more inductive devices, 6, may be inserted'in a suitable portion of the circuit as, for instance, inthe conductor 4, or any other suitable position. 'The effects of this will be to more or less retard the successive current impulses and thus, as it were, to smooth out the resulting current causing it to be more or less undulatory in character.

and preventing the occurrence of zero points In practice when the device 5 is used as an illuminating device, I have found that with change of brilliancy on the part of the lamp that it appears as though operating on a' continuous current. In. this connection it may be stated that the samedevice may be employed as a continuous current translating' device byemploying'a continuous current source and either one of the elect odes,

8,or 9, as the positive electrode, or th two may be connected in parallel: so thatas a translating device it may be usedeither in connection with a continuous or current circuit.

In Fig. 2, a modification is'shown in which two separate devices, 14 and '15, are employed for delivering current to a work circuit containing translating devices, 13, which may be'of any desired character, or the two positive electrodes may be inserted in one of these devices as shown in Fig.1, the vapor column being here practically eliminated. In this instance,-the conductor 3 is connected to the ositive electrode of the device, 14, while,-,;t e 1 negative electrode is connected with one side of the work circuit. The coil e5 10 is connected between the conductors 1 such an organization there is such slight alternating with the remainin and 2 and the coil 11 is connected between the conductor 2 and the conductor 20lead ing to the positive electrode of the other device 15, the negative electrode of which is connected with the same side of the work circuit as the negative electrode of the device 14. The other side of the work circuit is connected by the conductor 4:, with the conductor 2, and an inductive device 6,

" may, if desired, be connected in the corn ductor 4:, as in Fig. 1. In some instances, the inductive load of the work circuit will be such as to render the device 6 unadvisable.

In both the organizations shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, it may be desired to so construct the transformer that no separate inductive device, as 6, may be desired. Such devices as 5, 14 and 15, offer considerable resistance to the initial passage of current therethrough, but when this is overcome in a given direction currents in that direction will flow with comparative ease, although they offer a practically prohibitive resistance to the flow of currents in the opposite direction under ordinary conditions of potential, If the conditions are such that the current falls to zero between each wave, then means should be provided for overcoming the initial resistance at each zero point, but if means are provided for producing a retardation of inductive effect sufficient to prevent the current from falling below. the. value required to prevent the initial resistance from reestablishing itself,

then there will'be acontinuous flow when once the current is started in a device such as is shown in Fig. 1. 'By using both the positive and negative waves in a manner such as herein described, the full output of the generator may be availed of, Any convenient well known means may be employed for-overcoming the initial resistance in a given direction. Various other methods of connecting the circuits may be employed.

This application isa division of an ap r plication filed by me on the twenty-fifth day of April, 1903, Serial Number 154,304.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination-with a gas or vapor electric, device of the having two positive electrodes and a common negative electrode, of a transformer having the terminals of its primary coil connected with one-of the positive electrodes and the. negative electrode, and the respective terminals of the secondary connected g positive electrode and the negative electrode.

2. The combination with a gas or vapor electric device of the character described,- having two positive electrodes and a common negative electrode, of a transformer having the terminals of its primary coil character described,

connected with one of the positive elec- New York, and State of New York, this trodesand the ne ative electrode, and the 29th day of May, A. D. 1903.

respective termina s of the secondary connected with the remaining positive electrode PETER COOPER 5 and the negative electrode, and an induc Witnesses:

tive resistance in circuit with the device. WM. H. Cm

Signed at New York in the county of Gnome H. Swooxnnmem. 

